Some known vehicle systems may travel according to a trip plan that provides instructions for the vehicle system to implement during movement of the vehicle system so that the vehicle system meets or achieves certain objectives during the trip. For example, the trip plan may dictate throttle settings or brake settings of the vehicle system as a function of time, location, and/or other parameters. The objectives for the trip may include reaching the arrival location at or before a predefined arrival time, increasing fuel efficiency (relative to the fuel efficiency of the vehicle system traveling without following the trip plan), abiding by speed limits and emissions limits, and the like.
For example, the Trip Optimizer™ system of General Electric Company can create a trip plan by collecting various input information related to the vehicle system and the trip, such as the length and weight of the vehicle system, the grade and conditions of the route that the vehicle will be traversing, weather conditions, performance of the rail vehicle, or the like. The input information may also include one or more “slow orders” that have been issued for respective segments of the route. A slow order specifies a maximum speed at which a vehicle system may travel through the respective segment. A slow order may be applied, for example, to a segment of the route where individuals (e.g., construction workers, inspectors, or the like) may be located near the route or where conditions of the route may be poor (e.g., debris along the route). Presently, slow orders include the location of the segment and the maximum speed at which the vehicle system may travel.
A single trip, however, may be hundreds of kilometers or more and include several slow orders. As an example, a single trip may be more than a thousand kilometers and may travel through thirty or more segments with slow orders. Due to the length and duration of the trip, a slow order may have expired when the vehicle system arrives at the respective segment. If the operator is aware that the slow order has expired, the operator may break from automatic control and manually control the vehicle system through the respective segment. It is generally desirable, however, to increase the time in which the vehicle system is automatically controlled or, for those instances in which the vehicle system is controlled manually, to guide the operator along the segment using correct information.